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Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Soup - A Digestive Tonic

Making top notch soup doesn't require formal training or a pint of heavy cream.

To make soup that your family and friends will rave about, all you need are a handful of wholesome ingredients: two heads of cauliflower, a couple of Yukon gold potatoes, two shallots or a yellow onion, and a fresh bunch of any favorite herb.

As with most soups that include a healthy portion of cooked Yukon gold potatoes, I find that this soup is consistently helpful to those with an inflamed stomach or colon.

Here's an up-close look at our ingredients:

And some more zooming in to view our shallots, which are sort of a cross between onions and garlic:

If you can't find shallots at your local market, it's fine to substitute with one large yellow or purple onion.

Here's what shallots look like when you peel off their outer layer:

After giving the cauliflower and potatoes a good wash, chop the potatoes into bite-size pieces and put them in a roasting pan or casserole dish.

Give the shallots a rough chop and add them to the potatoes.

It's best to add a few cloves of garlic at this stage - I just didn't happen to have any around for this batch.

Next, add the cauliflower florets.

Then a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, followed by a good toss to make sure that everyone gets at least a touch of golden goodness.

Here's what your collection of nutrient-rich veggies should look like just before you put them away into a pre-heated oven (about 350 F will do).

While your veggies are roasting, bring about six cups of vegetable or chicken broth to a light simmer.

You want to retrieve your vegetables once they've taken on a light golden tinge, just like so:

Here's a close-up to get your salivary glands pumping:

Now add your roasted veggies to your simmering broth - the broth should cover at least three-quarters of your veggies. If you don't have enough, simply add more until you do, then cover your soup pot with a lid and let things simmer for a good 20 minutes or until your cauliflower florets are super tender.

The final step is to blend everything together until you produce a creamy soup that looks something like this:

Just happened to have some chives on hand, which go really well with this roasted cauliflower soup.

Here's the final version with a mini-forest of fresh dill:

It's easiest to blend with a hand-held blender, but if you don't have one, simply blend in small batches with a regular blender or food processor - just be careful not to burn yourself. I like to take the clear center part out of the lid of our blender, then hold the lid in place by pressing down with a folded up dish cloth - this keeps soup from spilling out while allowing a bit of a vent for the steam.

Ah, and almost forgot, you'll want to season to taste with sea salt and pepper before serving.

For a printer-friendly version of this roasted cauliflower soup recipe, one that doesn't come with 17 pages of pictures, please click here:

I hope that you and your loved ones enjoy this soup as much as my family does. It's rich in cancer-fighting indole-3-carbinole, and is also an excellent source of vitamin C. And did I mention that it doesn't contain a pint of heavy cream?

After more than 30 years of coughing, due to my acid reflux, so the doctor stated, I do not cough anymore AT ALL after I had the soup for breakfast. Now, I have to figure out if I need to have the soup before every meal, or in between meals.
A big hurray for Dr, Ben Kim.
Thank you so much!!

Dear Dr. Ben Kim,
Thank you for the pictorial and recipe instructions for the cauliflower potato soup. I used 1 cauliflower, couple more potatoes, 2 onions, 5-6 whole garlic cloves, and olive oil for the roasting part. I used water instead of broth and added some rosemary herb in an empty tea filter while simmering. Also added dried Italian herbs, oregano, basil and Himalayan salt. The roasting part makes it really delicious. It tastes like turkey stuffing! Sunflower sprouts will be the next garnish. Thank you!

One of the beauties of this recipe--while delicious as given--is that it is basic enough to adjust further. A couple considerations: In the colder months this soup could use a bit of "heat," so 1/4 tsp. cayenne powder will please the throat and add to the stomach's "fire." Also, if one tends towards a Vata constitution (according Ayurveda), cauliflower and potatoes are notoriously difficult to digest, which for very sensitive people leads to gas. Adding some spices that aid the digestive fire will help; e.g., use a tsp. of a favorite Indian masala or Ras al Hanout, a masala from Middle Eastern cuisine. The recipe allows for so many creative variations. Thank you, Dr. Kim!

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The contents of this website are the opinions of Dr. Ben Kim unless otherwise noted. The information on this website is not intended as personalized medical advice and is not intended to replace the relationship that you have with your primary care provider. Any decisions you make with regard to your daily choices and medical treatments should be made with the help of a qualified health care provider.